Clarkson Evans fully supports the principles of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and we find any violation of human rights unacceptable. We are committed to promoting inclusive and rewarding experiences of employment for everyone.

This statement is published on behalf of all companies included in the Clarkson Evans Group, namely: Clarkson Evans Holdings Ltd, Clarkson Evans Ltd, Clarkson Evans Training Ltd and Staverton Electrical Supplies.

Nature of our business

We are the largest electrical contractor dedicated to serving the new house building sector, with annual turnover exceeding £60m and over 850 employees. From our head office in Gloucester and our 20 regional branches, we work on new housing sites covering much of England and south Wales. We also operate a significant in-house training operation, responsible for training our electrical apprentices and delivering short electrical courses to paying customers. Staverton Electrical Supplies is our in-house electrical wholesale arm, which purchases and distributes over £20m worth of materials to our branches each year.

Our supply chain

We are committed to carrying out due diligence when selecting suppliers, with a view to ensuring that modern slavery is not taking place in our supply chain.

As of April 2019 we have recruited a dedicated Procurement Manager who is responsible for undertaking a review of our supplier arrangements. Developing a Procurement Policy encompassing ethical and sustainable procurement (including compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015) is a priority task.

Our Procurement Policy will cover the procurement cycle from supplier engagement and identification of risk to evaluation of suppliers and quotes, and ongoing performance management.

Relevant policies

We operate several policies which contribute to the enforcement of our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking. These include our Staff Code of Conduct, our Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures and our Bullying and Harassment Policy. Our Procurement Policy will also form a significant part of our approach.

As part of our Whistleblowing Policy we set out to staff that they are expected to report any criminal offences or failures to comply with legal obligations, and we operate an independent whistleblowing hotline (Safecall) to encourage disclosures.

Training and staff awareness

We undertake to embed training for staff as part of our induction process and leadership development programmes. A review of our new starter induction process is currently underway and an overview of our obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 will be itemised as a specific topic.

Statement Approval

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It is approved by the Clarkson Evans Board of Directors on 25 April 2019 and constitutes our Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for the financial year ending September 2018.